When a customer taps a star on your review page, the next step depends on whether they tapped high (4-5) or low (1-3). Different paths protect your public rating without ignoring unhappy customers.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.servicebooked.ca/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
The split
4 or 5 stars → Public Google review
Customer is happy. We immediately redirect their browser to your Google Business Profile review URL. They land directly on the “leave a review” interface with the star count pre-filled (best-effort — Google’s URL params accept it but their UI sometimes resets). If they continue and submit on Google, you’ve got a public 5-star review.1, 2, or 3 stars → Private feedback form
Customer is unhappy. We show a feedback form on the same page, asking what went wrong. They type their explanation, hit submit, and see a thank-you. Their feedback goes:- To your inbox as a conversation
- To the contact’s interactions timeline
- As a notification to your owners + admins
Why this approach
Three benefits:- You ask everyone. Most owners only ask happy customers, which underestimates your real average. Asking everyone gives you a true picture and catches problems early.
- Bad reviews don’t go public. A 2-star customer who gets routed to private feedback is much less likely to also leave a 2-star review on Google. They’ve vented; their grievance is heard; they move on. That’s a soft block on negative public reviews.
- Negative feedback is signal. The 1-3 star feedback you collect is invaluable — it tells you exactly where your service falls short. Use it to improve.
Is this ethical?
Yes. We’re not blocking anyone from leaving a public review — they can always navigate to your Google Business Profile directly. We’re just making the easy path the high-value path: happy customers → public, unhappy customers → private. The customer-protection rule is: never refuse to acknowledge negative feedback. The funnel doesn’t refuse — it captures and routes. Always respond to the private feedback within 24 hours; that’s how you turn an unhappy customer back to neutral or positive.Customizing the redirect
The 4/5-star redirect target is your Google review URL, configured at Settings → Reputation → Google review URL. Get this URL by:- Going to your Google Business Profile.
- Clicking Get more reviews in the dashboard.
- Copying the link.
https://g.page/r/<long-id>/review
Paste it into ServiceBooked. Done.
For non-Google redirects (e.g., Yelp, Trustpilot), see Google Business Profile setup — we currently support Google as the primary redirect; multi-platform is on the roadmap.
What if they don’t tap any star?
The review request page shows the 5 stars + a brief explainer. If they leave without tapping anything, no further action — no negative impact, just no feedback collected. They can come back later via the same link (links don’t expire).What about the “leave us a Google review” link in the email itself?
Yes, the email and SMS message bodies include{{review_link}} which opens the star-rating page. We deliberately DON’T link customers directly to Google — because that bypasses the private-feedback funnel. Always route through the star page first.
If you customize the message and want to add an extra “or click here for our Google page” link, fine — but most owners don’t, because the funnel works better when there’s only one clear next step.
Privacy in private feedback
When a customer submits 1-3 star feedback, we record:- Their star rating
- Their text feedback
- Their IP address
- Their user-agent
- The timestamp
Next
Connect Google Business Profile
How to get your Google review URL.